About the Poem

About the poet

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So small?

So small?

'So Small?' is a poem that began to come to me after reading about an extremely small lizard, a gecko, seen in the Amazon jungle for the first time by humans. Or by humans who could write about it. I began to wonder about other incredible things that might not yet have been seen. Some of those things might even be in our garden.

and now someone has seen
the teeniest lizard there's ever been
in existence, a gecko smaller
than my baby sister's finger

and I'm wondering
if somewhere there could be
herds of tiny elephants,
giraffes and hippopotamus browsing

a grassy clearing in a forest
where sunlight washes over a splash
of green water and on the edge
thumb-size crocodiles snooze

while among the plants and shrubs
mini-geckos flicker elastic tongues,
catch flies that cloud the air
like specks of dust.